Part 2: Sidney & The Thing That Lives Under My Tub
Want to read Part 1 first?
Sidney the Dog
Sidney is my goddog. Those who have read my Lizards in Scarves blog have already met this strikingly large Doberman with his beautiful natural ears and sunny disposition. Depending on how crazy busy his mom is during her work week (meaning, how many hours she doesn't spend at home playing with Sid), Sidney comes over to stay with me for an overnight stay bracketed by a couple of play days. Sidney hadn't been over for a while, not since The Thing started camping out here on a regular basis during this rainy season.
The slight bump just to the left of center is a sign that Sluggo is there.
Normally, when Sidney is here, he spends several minutes every 2-3 hours standing in my bedroom staring intently at the heating pad-and-towel covered cluster of upside down crates that forms Sluggo's quiet sleeping place. He can smell Sluggo there, and knows that sometimes Sluggo is under the blankies on top of the pad, or under the crates, wherein Sluggo will sometimes wriggle for some reason I have yet to fathom. Well, other than the more recent one which can be filed under the category of "Torturing the Dog".
Fortunately for both Sluggo and Sidney, Sluggo keeps a low profile while Sidney is here. Fortunate for Sluggo, because Sidney adores chew toys and isn't particular about what he chews on. Fortunate for Sidney, because if he chewed on Sluggo, I'd have to kill him, recycle him by feeding him to Mikey, Sluggo, the turtles and The Thing, and then lie to his parents about what happened to him. ("Gee, I guess he followed somebody else home…")
So, Sidney's time here is spent briefly trolling for Sluggo, but mostly playing with me, activities that involve well-chewed tennis balls, lots of growling with tail wagging, lots of running, and the occasional thump of a heavy body in motion meeting an object at rest. Sometimes I'm the object at rest, other times I'm the body in motion, but mostly it is Sidney and the balls in motion, with both of us contributing the growls.
(Occasionally, just to get him going a bit, or startle him into releasing his hold on a ball, I will speak Cat to him, miaowing (I apparently speak Cat with a French accent, just as I do Hebrew and what little Spanish I muddle through) and mewling with the occasional hiss thrown in for general effect. When I'm with Sidney and his mom, we can really drive the poor boy nuts when Karen adds her remarkable turkey gobbling to the mix.)
Two weeks ago, I picked Sidney up on Tuesday morning for a two-day play date. There had been a break in the rain for a couple of days, enough so that there was actually some sun when we went to the dog park that afternoon. The dog park was mostly mud, but there was very nice guy who came shortly after we arrived, who had two dogs of his own and, more importantly, a ball thrower. He threw balls for Sid and his own dogs for about an hour, after which the dogs were pretty much coated in mud (just imagine a 120 pound Doberman dipped in dark chocolate).
So, rather than transferring all that mud to our vehicles, we went to the park next door and let the dogs swim and fetch balls and sticks in the lake. The dogs had a blast, while wewatched the mud melt away.
Sidney asleep…
Sidney sacked out early that night, and slept through the night. Well, other than the two times he heard something out back that I needed protection from. But, that's normal for his spending the night here. I open the back door, he stands in the doorway until he figures out where the sound is coming from, a chase ensues, I call him back, and we go back to bed for a couple more hours.
Well, I go back to bed, while Sidney goes back to the couch, where he sleeps, since he has been so well trained by his parents not to sleep in their bed, that he won't even get up on mine.
On Wednesday, we played some more, visited the dog park again, but the day was much colder, so we didn't spend much time there, as I didn't want him all wet from the lake while we still had some errands to run. We did get some ball throwing and catching in, though it was a little different on this day.
Being enthralled at the idea of using a ball thrower to pickup slobbery, muddy, microbial-riddled tennis balls with something other than my cut-covered hands (one of the downsides to living with a large rough-scaled lizard like Mike), I stopped at the small pet store near by, and got a ball thrower of my own. While Sid quickly caught on to the fact that I could pick up and throw the balls with the thrower, he kept thinking that he could somehow cut out the middle human and throw his own balls.
Unclear on the concept: Sidney holds the ball thrower, and stares hopfully at his toy box.
As usual, his dad came and picked him up in the late afternoon, and I waved good-bye while Sid, also as usual, was so thrilled to be with his dad that he didn't notice that he was leaving me.
Not too long after they got back home, Sid's dad called me - he'd taken ill and needed to get to the hospital. Sid's mom being out of town, I headed over there, picked his dad up, and off we went. Fortunately, it turned out to be ever so much better than it could have been, and so he was released and we got back home before midnight. Because he was on medication and going back to the hospital for more tests the next day, it was decided that I would take Sidney home with me, and keep him for another night or two.
Sidney was a bit confused and clingy by the time we got back to my house, so he stayed by me, decidedly not playful, until he finally got sleepy enough that I thought he would go to sleep okay. So, I got him up on the couch, wrapped him in his blankets, and off to sleep he went, with me following shortly there after.
It was around 1:30 AM when I turned off my bedside light. Sidney usually starts trying to wake me up around 8 in the morning, but he slept in until almost 9:30, which was nice for both of us.
His usual morning routine is: Sid trots down the hallway into my bedroom, tag jangling against his collar buckle, and stands by my side of the bed, staring intently at me for a few moments.
When that doesn't get me up, he begins poking his snout under the blankets and tries to throw them off of me or, better yet, put his cold nose in direct contact with warm skin. Since I sleep under at least one down comforter, and with a flannel-covered body pillow between me and the edge of the bed (hey! It's warmer that way!), all Sid gets is a snout full of flannel and covers that flop right back down onto his face.
Sid keeps this up for several minutes, while I 'remain' asleep. He gets increasingly frustrated, and eventually starts yipping and whining a bit as he works harder to try to get me up, pausing from time to time to see if there is any sign of life from me.
Eventually I take pity on him and "wake up".
Joy! Happiness!
A chance to Out and Pee!
And Eat!
Or Eat First, then Pee!
And then there's Lizard Food Leftovers! More Joy! More Happiness! And maybe Eggs! Or a Cheese Omelet!
By Dog, Life is GOOD!
Read Part 3
Sidney the Dog
Sidney is my goddog. Those who have read my Lizards in Scarves blog have already met this strikingly large Doberman with his beautiful natural ears and sunny disposition. Depending on how crazy busy his mom is during her work week (meaning, how many hours she doesn't spend at home playing with Sid), Sidney comes over to stay with me for an overnight stay bracketed by a couple of play days. Sidney hadn't been over for a while, not since The Thing started camping out here on a regular basis during this rainy season.
The slight bump just to the left of center is a sign that Sluggo is there.
Normally, when Sidney is here, he spends several minutes every 2-3 hours standing in my bedroom staring intently at the heating pad-and-towel covered cluster of upside down crates that forms Sluggo's quiet sleeping place. He can smell Sluggo there, and knows that sometimes Sluggo is under the blankies on top of the pad, or under the crates, wherein Sluggo will sometimes wriggle for some reason I have yet to fathom. Well, other than the more recent one which can be filed under the category of "Torturing the Dog".
Fortunately for both Sluggo and Sidney, Sluggo keeps a low profile while Sidney is here. Fortunate for Sluggo, because Sidney adores chew toys and isn't particular about what he chews on. Fortunate for Sidney, because if he chewed on Sluggo, I'd have to kill him, recycle him by feeding him to Mikey, Sluggo, the turtles and The Thing, and then lie to his parents about what happened to him. ("Gee, I guess he followed somebody else home…")
So, Sidney's time here is spent briefly trolling for Sluggo, but mostly playing with me, activities that involve well-chewed tennis balls, lots of growling with tail wagging, lots of running, and the occasional thump of a heavy body in motion meeting an object at rest. Sometimes I'm the object at rest, other times I'm the body in motion, but mostly it is Sidney and the balls in motion, with both of us contributing the growls.
(Occasionally, just to get him going a bit, or startle him into releasing his hold on a ball, I will speak Cat to him, miaowing (I apparently speak Cat with a French accent, just as I do Hebrew and what little Spanish I muddle through) and mewling with the occasional hiss thrown in for general effect. When I'm with Sidney and his mom, we can really drive the poor boy nuts when Karen adds her remarkable turkey gobbling to the mix.)
Two weeks ago, I picked Sidney up on Tuesday morning for a two-day play date. There had been a break in the rain for a couple of days, enough so that there was actually some sun when we went to the dog park that afternoon. The dog park was mostly mud, but there was very nice guy who came shortly after we arrived, who had two dogs of his own and, more importantly, a ball thrower. He threw balls for Sid and his own dogs for about an hour, after which the dogs were pretty much coated in mud (just imagine a 120 pound Doberman dipped in dark chocolate).
So, rather than transferring all that mud to our vehicles, we went to the park next door and let the dogs swim and fetch balls and sticks in the lake. The dogs had a blast, while wewatched the mud melt away.
Sidney asleep…
Sidney sacked out early that night, and slept through the night. Well, other than the two times he heard something out back that I needed protection from. But, that's normal for his spending the night here. I open the back door, he stands in the doorway until he figures out where the sound is coming from, a chase ensues, I call him back, and we go back to bed for a couple more hours.
Well, I go back to bed, while Sidney goes back to the couch, where he sleeps, since he has been so well trained by his parents not to sleep in their bed, that he won't even get up on mine.
On Wednesday, we played some more, visited the dog park again, but the day was much colder, so we didn't spend much time there, as I didn't want him all wet from the lake while we still had some errands to run. We did get some ball throwing and catching in, though it was a little different on this day.
Being enthralled at the idea of using a ball thrower to pickup slobbery, muddy, microbial-riddled tennis balls with something other than my cut-covered hands (one of the downsides to living with a large rough-scaled lizard like Mike), I stopped at the small pet store near by, and got a ball thrower of my own. While Sid quickly caught on to the fact that I could pick up and throw the balls with the thrower, he kept thinking that he could somehow cut out the middle human and throw his own balls.
Unclear on the concept: Sidney holds the ball thrower, and stares hopfully at his toy box.
As usual, his dad came and picked him up in the late afternoon, and I waved good-bye while Sid, also as usual, was so thrilled to be with his dad that he didn't notice that he was leaving me.
Not too long after they got back home, Sid's dad called me - he'd taken ill and needed to get to the hospital. Sid's mom being out of town, I headed over there, picked his dad up, and off we went. Fortunately, it turned out to be ever so much better than it could have been, and so he was released and we got back home before midnight. Because he was on medication and going back to the hospital for more tests the next day, it was decided that I would take Sidney home with me, and keep him for another night or two.
Sidney was a bit confused and clingy by the time we got back to my house, so he stayed by me, decidedly not playful, until he finally got sleepy enough that I thought he would go to sleep okay. So, I got him up on the couch, wrapped him in his blankets, and off to sleep he went, with me following shortly there after.
It was around 1:30 AM when I turned off my bedside light. Sidney usually starts trying to wake me up around 8 in the morning, but he slept in until almost 9:30, which was nice for both of us.
His usual morning routine is: Sid trots down the hallway into my bedroom, tag jangling against his collar buckle, and stands by my side of the bed, staring intently at me for a few moments.
When that doesn't get me up, he begins poking his snout under the blankets and tries to throw them off of me or, better yet, put his cold nose in direct contact with warm skin. Since I sleep under at least one down comforter, and with a flannel-covered body pillow between me and the edge of the bed (hey! It's warmer that way!), all Sid gets is a snout full of flannel and covers that flop right back down onto his face.Sid keeps this up for several minutes, while I 'remain' asleep. He gets increasingly frustrated, and eventually starts yipping and whining a bit as he works harder to try to get me up, pausing from time to time to see if there is any sign of life from me.
Eventually I take pity on him and "wake up".
Joy! Happiness!A chance to Out and Pee!
And Eat!
Or Eat First, then Pee!
And then there's Lizard Food Leftovers! More Joy! More Happiness! And maybe Eggs! Or a Cheese Omelet!
By Dog, Life is GOOD!
Read Part 3
posted by Melissa at 11:51 AM
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